The National Strategy aimed to cut the suicide rate by one fifth by 2025, and recommended that states introduce action plans to curb the spread. Federal grants were announced, and every state appointed a suicide prevention coordinator.

But according to Jerry Reed, co-author of the National Strategy, progress has been sluggish: “At this point in time, there is no state in the US that has successfully implemented a comprehensive and integrated suicide prevention program.” If current trends continue, the US won’t simply fail to significantly reduce suicide, its suicide rate will be significantly higher than in 2012.

But, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the tide could be about to turn. Colorado is set to launch a groundbreaking suicide prevention plan in the first six months of 2019. With high-profile national backing and a raft of financial support, the state’s plan could set the benchmark for the country to take to scale...